The European Parliament adopted by 527 votes to 26, with 55 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the draft Council decision on the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and the Government of the Russian Federation.

The European Parliament has given its consent to the renewal of the agreement.

PURPOSE: renewal of the Agreement on cooperation between the European Community and Russia in the field of science and technology.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.

BACKGROUND: the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and Russia was signed in Brussels on 16 November 2000 and entered into force on 10 May 2001.

The Agreement is renewable by common agreement between the parties for additional periods of five-years. The Agreement has been renewed three times, in 2004, 2009 and 2014, for an additional period of five years each time. The current Agreement expired on 20 February 2019.

Both parties confirmed their intention to renew the agreement for an additional period of five years without any amendments.

CONTENT: under the draft Council Decision, the renewal of the Agreement on cooperation in science and technology between the European Community and the Government of the Russian Federation for an additional period of five years would be approved on behalf of the European Union.

The substance of the renewed Agreement will be identical to that of the current Agreement as discussed and agreed with the Russian counterparts. It will not create new rights and obligations for the EU, but instead it will extend in time the legal regime already existing between the Parties in the field of science and technology cooperation.

The renewal of the Agreement fits within the EU's approach based on the five guiding principles to manage the EU’s current relations with Russia, agreed upon at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 14 March 2016 and confirmed at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 16 April 2018.

The Agreement provides a framework to enhance people-to-people contacts and science, technology and innovation cooperation in areas of EU strategic interest in the years to come, countering the trend of decreasing intensity of scientific collaboration between EU and Russian participants.